Collin Govender | Managing Director | Altron Karabina | mail me |
One of the secrets to being a successful leader is remaining focused during times of change. A leader must ensure there is continued business momentum during change while also activating and driving change with the people in the engine room of the organisation.
Leaders are also on career paths and there are times when we must actively choose to make a decision regarding our own careers and work through considerations involved in making the right decision. It is an incredibly vulnerable moment and one that is simply not possible without empathy.
Types of empathy
There are two types of empathy: putting yourself in other people’s shoes and taking the time to observe and talk to yourself in an empathetic manner. I’d posit that this empathy and self-empathy are crucial and a leader must consciously work towards embodying these traits.
Allow me to turn the lens inwards for a moment. I took up a leadership role in October last year, and have walked some very difficult yards with the team. There was an urgent need for change but we had to build trust quickly in order to start executing this change.
The rapport we have built as a team is starting to bear fruit and this creates hope for the future. You see, our turnaround had been an immense success and we were soaring as a business.
Our Systems Integration opportunity came along and I had to make a difficult choice. This is not unusual because everyone will find themselves in these situations at some point in their careers. There’s only one thing to do when these moments arrive – stay true to your personal value system and purpose, and then do what is right for you and your career. And that’s where I found myself.
Uncertainty and anxiety
The decision had its fair share of uncertainty and anxiety. The first thing I said to myself was: In the new role I could make a further positive impact on the overall organisation by helping Altron Systems Integration achieve its potential, however I was deeply concerned about the team I would be leaving behind.
As is evident, I made the decision to move. The exercise allowed me to reflect on how I make decisions and whose happiness I tend to consider when making decisions. I landed on this acknowledgement: It is one thing to serve, and be a servant leader, but if all your decisions are anchored in pleasing other people you will do yourself a disservice.
I took the time to talk to everyone who would be impacted by my decision and took their words to heart. I ensured I stayed connected to the people impacted.
The exercise demonstrated that many of my fears were unfounded and that the team I had empowered did not feel abandoned – which was a fear that kept me awake at night. I had in many ways worked myself out of the position. That’s a success barometer for leadership!
In conclusion
Leaders of all sorts of organisations can take the same pillars that held up my personal decision and apply them to the running of their organisations. Change needs to be approached with empathy.
Business decisions need to align with the company values and purpose, they need to consider the people, they need to be geared towards growth and developing leadership capacity within the organisation.
That last point is important. You want the seeds that you sowed with genuine empathy to germinate so that other people can harvest the crops. That’s how I have judged that my decision was the right one, and perhaps it will provide some food for thought.
